List Format

Books B (p. 2)

Books: B (p. 1 of 2)

Baker, Nancy

The Night Inside {/127/} [BBT]

[Viking; 1993; ?]
[Ballantine; 1994; 0449909042; $?] [BB]

[Result: VA/PE.] A young woman is abducted to supply blood for a captive vampire; she and the vampire realise that the only way they can escape is by turning her. The rest of the book describes what happens as she struggles to survive alone in Toronto. The Night Inside emphasizes her psychological transformation as well as her physical differences. -127

Ball, Brian N.

The Probability Man {/104/} [BBT]

[DAW; 1971; No ISBN; $0.95]

Rating: 3 Cause: AX/CM/GM Result: BM Significance: 0 Description: + Saturation: +. A future setting sends humans to alternate history-style adventures; Spingarn, the central character, activated "Frames" that cause human entries to be transformed into new and very different forms. He and three others are sent to deactivate the "Frames." Difficult to follow on a first read-through; Ball is very scrupulous about authenticity; the characters never explain things they already know to one another--so the reader has to infer the meaning of the "Frames" and the specific problem. Fairly well-written, though. Sequel is Planet Probability. -104

Planet Probability {104//} [BBT]

[DAW; 1973; No ISBN; $0.95]

Rating: 3 Cause: AX/CM/GM Result: BM Significance: + Description: + Saturation: +. Sequel to The Probability Man. The Frames have not been deactivated; some people are still being transformed into new beings (including dinosaurs and sabre-toothed tigers). A pair is sent to look for Spingarn and close the Frames. Again, a bit difficult to follow on a first reading, although it is more clear on its first reading than The Probability Man. Fairly well-written. -104

Banks, Iain M. [AL] [BL]

Culture series {/TG/11}

[The Player of Games: Harper & Row; 1989; 0061000981; $4.50] [BB] [BBT]
[The Player of Games: Harper Collins; 1997; 0061053562; $10.00 softcover] [BB]

In a future society, people can change their bodies in myriad ways using glands they have modified themselves (as a race) to possess. The only transformations in The Player of Games take place off stage and have almost no impact upon the story, so it's not worth reading for them. It is a quite good read, though. SF; Rating: 4 Cause: GM Result: GC Significance: - Description: - Saturation: -. -11

[Consider Phlebas: Bantam Spectra; 1991; 0553292811; $5.99] [RR] [BB] [BBT]
[Use of Weapons: Bantam Spectra; 1992; 0553292242; $4.99] [RR] [BB] [BBT]
[Against a Dark Background: Bantam Spectra; 1993; 0553292250; $5.99] [BB] [BBT]

Barnes, Steven

The Kundalini Equation {/22,87/} [BBT]

[Tor; 1986; 0812531507; $3.50] [BB]
[Forge; 1995; 0812531507; $?] [BB]

Kind of a berserker transformation, with some twists. -22
Sort of Altered States on steroids. -87

Bass, T.J.

The Godwhale {/103/} [BBT]

[Ballantine; 1974; 345-24647-0; $1.50] [BB]
[Ballantine; 1989; 0345310950; $?] [BB]

Rating: 2 Significance: 0 Description: - Saturation: 0. Set on the same world as Half past human, but I'm not sure if it's a sequel. There don't seem to be any carry-overs. One character has his legs destroyed in an accident, and later uses a horse-like robot walker to move around. Others learn to live in the ocean. Again, I wouldn't read it just for the transformations. -103

Half Past Human {/103/} [BBT]

[Ballantine; 1971; 345-24635-7; $1.50] [BB]
[Ballantine; 1983; 0345311159; $?] [BB]

Rating: 1 Significance: 0 Description: - Saturation: -. A citizen in a hive-like culture is ordered to become sexually mature and find a mate. I wouldn't read it for it's transformation, though it's not too bad. -103

Bassingthwaite, Don [??]

Breathe Deeply {/154,Ph/} [??] [BBT]

[White Wolf; 1995; 1565048814; $5.99] [BB]

[Result: LY.] Lycanthropy. -154 (98/02/12)
Set in the World of Darkness background (from the White Wolf roleplaying games). Not read. -Ph

Baudino, Gael [BL]

Dragonsword series {/11,TG/} (98/02/14)

[1: Dragonsword: ROC; 1991; 0451450817; $4.99] [BB] [BBT]

Rating: 2 Result: MX/GC Significance: 0 Description: - Saturation: 0. Fantasy; magic. Not really good or bad, more just there. Little detail to the transformations, though a fair amount of care is given to examining their effects, at least in one instance. -11

[2: Duel of Dragons: New American Library; 1993; 0451450973; $4.99] [BB] [BBT]
[3: Dragon Death: New American Library; 1993; 0451451473; $4.99] [BB] [BBT]

Baum, L. Frank [GS]

The Lost Princess of Oz {/75/} [BBT]

[Ballantine; 1990; 0345333675; $4.99] [BB]

[Cause: MA Result: BM.] The villain uses shapechanging spells on the heroes in the final battle. -75

The Magic of Oz {/75/} [BBT]

[Del Rey; 1991; 0345332881; $4.95] [BB]

[Cause: MA Result: BM.] The villain discovers a shape-changing spell unknown to Glinda and the Wizard, and wreaks havoc. -75

The Marvelous Land of Oz {/42/} [FT] [BBT]

[Ballantine; ?]
[Dover; 1985; 0486206920; $7.95] [BB]

(See Spoiler section for more info.) -42

Rinkitink in Oz {//75} [BBT]

[Ballantine; 1990; 0345333179; $4.95] [BB]

One of the characters is a talking goat. Near the end, it is discovered that he is an enchanted human; but the enchantment is really powerful, and to change him back to his proper shape Glinda has to go through a roundabout series of transformations: goat -> lamb -> ostrich -> tottenhot -> mifket -> Prince. Rating: 5 Cause: MA Result: BX/AN Significance: -. -75

The Road to Oz {/75/} [BBT]

[Ballantine; 1991; 0345334671; $4.95] [BB]
[Puffin; 1993; 0140351213; $2.99] [BB]

[Result: MX/AN.] The Shaggy Man is given a donkey's head as a boon by the king of Dunkiton, and Button-Bright is given a fox's head as a boon by King Dox of Foxville. They do not appreciate these gifts. On finally reaching Oz, they bathe in the Truth Pond and are restored to their proper shapes. -75

The Tin Woodman of Oz {/75/} [BBT]

[Ballantine; 1988; 0345333436; $4.99] [BB]
[Amazon.com lists as: Ballantine; 1988; 0345334361; $?] [BB]

[Cause: MA Result: BX/IN/AN.]
More detail and background on the piecemeal transformation of Nick Chopper into a tin man. Really neat... There is another interesting transformation. The Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, and Woot the Wanderer are travelling together, and come to the home of Mrs. Yoop the giantess. She makes them prisoners and turns the Tin Woodman into a tin own, the Scarecrow into a straw stuffed bear, and Woot into a Green Monkey. They escape, and, later, when Ozma and Glenda find them, they have no trouble restoring the Scarecrow and Nick Chopper, but it seems a Green Monkey can't be transformed by any known magic. At last they hit upon giving the Green Monkey shape to Mrs. Yoop, and transformating Mrs. Yoop's shape to Woot's body. -75

Beagle, Peter S. [SS] [BL]

The Innkeeper's Song {/3/} [BBT]

[ROC; 1993; 0451452887; $20.00 hardcover] [BB]
[New American Library; 1994; 0451454146; $11.95] [BB]

[Result: BX.] Beagle's new book [...] has a fox who changes into a man. There are even a couple of chapters told in first person from his point of view. There are other transformations... -3

[New American Library; 1994; 0451450523; $11.95] [BB]
[In The Fantasy Worlds of Peter Beagle; Del Rey; 1978; 034527525X; $?] [BB] [BBT]
[In The Fantasy Worlds of Peter Beagle; Ballantine; 1983; 0345289676; $?] [BB]

[Rating: 5.] Has an interesting transformation (it's a bit of a spoiler if I tell you what it is), and is one of the best books I've ever read. -3

Lila the Werewolf {11,Ph/3/}

[Capra Press; ?; 091226490X; $?] [BB]
[In The Fantasy Worlds of Peter Beagle; Del Rey; 1978; 034527525X; $?] [BB] [BBT]
[In The Fantasy Worlds of Peter Beagle; Ballantine; 1983; 0345289676; $?] [BB]
[In Werewolf! by Pronzini]

Another (brilliant) werewolf story. -3
Rating: 2 Result: LY Significance: + Description: 0 Saturation: +. -11
One of the more down-to-earth werewolf stories I've read, showing some of the problems of life as a werewolf in the big city. -Ph

Unicorn Sonata {3//} [BBT]

[Andrews Mcmeel; 1997; 1570362882; $15 hc] [BB]

Rating: 5 Cause: MC/NA Result: BM/BX Significance: + Description: - Saturation: 0. There is a parallel fantasy world to ours, and unicorns from that world turn into people in ours. One of Beagle's best works. -3 (98/04/04)

Bear, Greg [AL] [BL] [BR]

Blood Music {142/11,13,22/} [BBT]

[Ace; 1986; 0441067972; $4.50] [BB]
[Ace; 1996; 0441003486; $13.95] [BB]

Rating: 2 Cause: GM Significance: + Description: 0 Saturation: -. Horror; genetic manipulation error. -11
Rating: 4 Cause: AS/NT Result: BX Significance: +. Nanotechnologist Vergil Ulam has discovered a way to make individual cells intelligent. When he gets fired from his job, to avoid losing his hard-earned research to the company, he injects the intelligent cells into his own body. Pretty soon he starts noticing some odd changes in his eyesight, his hearing, even his sex life, as his body becomes a host to literally billions of intelligences. Then things get really funky. -142 (98/02/14)

Eon {/77/} [BBT]

[TOR; 1986; 0812537144; $4.95] [BB]
[TOR; 1995; 0812520475; $6.99] [BB]

Eternity {/77,79/} [BBT]

[Legend; 1990; 009970630X; $4.99?] [BB]
[Warner; 1994; 0446601888; $5.99] [BB]

[Result: MT.] SF novel, sequel to Eon. One person's mind is taken over by a Jart (an alien). -79

On Eon and Eternity:

[Result: BX/ST.] A wildly changed humanity occupying the space-time tube known as the Way; implants to preserve personality beyond the death of the body, artificial designer bodies, children conceived and raised in City Memory, who, on completion of their education, pass their embodiment exams and are allowed a physical body of their choice. -77

Queen of Angels {/77/} [RR] [BBT]

[Questar; 1991; 0446361305; $4.95] [BB]
[Warner; 1994; 0446361305; $5.99] [BB]

[Cause: NT Result: BM.] One of the principal characters has a transformed body, and meets another, peripheral character with a metabolism designed for space (presumably immune to zero-G calcium loss etc) These are nanotech modifications of an adult body, rather than the result of genetic manipulation. -77

The Serpent Mage {/42/} [BBT]

[Berkley; 1986; 0425093379; $3.50] [BB]
[combined with The Infinity Concerto: Tor; 1995; 0312856695; $24.95 hardcover] [BB]
[combined with The Infinity Concerto: Tor; 1996; 0812536037; $6.99] [BB]

[Cause: MC? Result: BX/AN.] The most significant transformation here is that of a millions-of-years-old mage to/from Loch-Ness Monster. Great book; sequel to The Infinity Concerto. -42

Bell, Clare [??]

The Jaguar Princess {105//} [BBT]

[Tor; 1994; 0812515161; $4.99] [BB]
[Tor; 1993; 0312097042; $?] [BB]

Rating: 4 Result: BM/AN/SC? Significance: + Description: + Saturation: 0. Summary: A young slave girl tries to survive under the rule of the Aztecs. It is discovered that she has a supurb skill for artistry, and becomes a scribe. Simultaneously she has to deal with her unknown ancestry; her people were descended from the ancient Olmec Jaguar gods. Transformation: Main character transforms into jaguar, with little control over this. Several partial transformations. -105

Benford, Gregory [AL] [BL] [BR]

Across the Sea of Suns {/TG/11} [BBT]

[Bantam Spectra; 1988; 0553282115; $4.50] [BB]
[Bantam; 1984; 0517490986; $?] [BB]

SF; Cause: AS Significance: 0 Description: - Saturation: -. Second in the series; portions of a crew decide to modify their bodies to relieve boredom during the mission. -11

Benford, Gregory; Brin, David

The Heart of the Comet {//42} [BBT]

[Bantam Spectra; 1987; 0553258397; $6.99] [BB]

[Cause: SY Result: MT.] An isolated fraction of the human race transforms itself in a short time, in multiple ways--some through personality transfer, some through acquisition of symbionts. Borderline for this list. -42

Benford, Gregory; Eklund, Gordon [??]

Find the Changeling {/91/} [??] [BBT]

[Dell; 1990; 0440126045; $2.75] [BB]

Rating: 2 Cause: NA Result: SC Significance: 0. The Changeling is an alien capable of becoming anything. The race tries to create chaos without space. Two Earthmen are trying to find and kill it. Not bad, but not spectacular. -91

Berlyn, Michael

The Integrated Man {/11,TG/} [BBT]

[Bantam; 1980; 0553139991; $1.95] [BB]

Mind transfers via silicon wafers. Not terribly interesting. SF; Rating: 2 Result: MT/GC Significance: 0 Description: 0 Saturation: 0. -11

Bester, Alfred [AL] [BR] [DZ]

The Computer Connection {/75/} [BBT]

[Berkley; 1976; 425-03039-150; $1.50]
[Putnam; 1975; 0399114815; $?] [BB]

[Result: BX/AR/HG.] A mediocre book, but with a couple of somewhat interesting transformations. Occasionally, a human being dying in great pain, fully conscious, and so forth, will become an immortal Molecular Man capable of breathing any gas by transmuting it into oxy-nitro, and eating any substance and drinking any fluid. The other transformation is when several cryonauts, being frozen for a journey to the Oort cloud and back (I think), regress to become unborn babies, and when they are unfrozen they start to grow up again, but this time as hermaphrodites. Go figure. -75

Tiger! Tiger! {/47/} [BBT]

[Penguin; 1974; 0140026207; ?] [BB]

[Rating: 3.] A classic work by this man, the 'hero' of the story has some interesting problems and eventually manages through a bizarre change to become capable of Teleportation. A good read, a 3... I wouldn't read it again and again... ;-) -47

Betancourt, John Gregory

Jonny Zed {//103} [BBT]

[Warner; 1988; 0445205598; ?] [BB]

[Cause: AM Result: BM/AN.] Rating: 2 Significance: - Description: - Saturation: -. I don't think the book actually has any transformation in it, but it has lots of references to some and a few characters have been surgically transformed into "animen" at some point in the past. -103

Biggle, Lloyd Jr. [AL]

Watchers of the Dark {/42/} [BBT]

[Dorchester; 1975; 0685531287; $?]! [BB]

[Result: SC.] The bad guys are shape-changers (or at least illusionists)--a fact of little importance to the story. -42

Bill, Alfred H. [??]

The Wolf in the Garden {/87/} [??] [BBT]

[Centaur; 1972; 0878180087; $?] [BB]

Just picked this one up and haven't read it yet. -87

Bischoff, David; Brown, Rich; Richardson, Linda [??]

A Personal Demon {//11} [??] [BBT]

[Signet/New American Library; 1985; 0451138147; $2.95] [BB]

Fantasy; Rating: 3 Cause: MA/MC Result: BX Significance: - Description: 0 Saturation: 0. An alcoholic college professor accidentally summons a demon, who proceeds to wreak havoc and fall in love. Transformations are minor elements; fun, but very lightweight. -11

Bishop, Michael (ed.); Watson, Ian (ed.) [BR:Bishop]

Changes (anthology) {Ph//} [BBT]

[Ace; 1983; 0441102603; $2.75] [BB]

Rating: 4 Significance: +. A very good collection of 18 stories (listed elsewhere), that's recent enough to still be very available in used book stores. -Ph

Blair, Cynthia [??]

Dark Moon Legacy series {/154/} [??] [BBT]

[1: The Curse: Harper; 1993; 0061061581; $?] [BB] [BBT]
[2: The Seduction: Harper; 1993; 0061061514; $3.99] [BB] [BBT]
[3: The Rebellion: Harper; 1993; 0061061603; $3.99] [BB] [BBT]

[Result: LY.] Lycanthropy. -154 (98/02/12)

Blish, James [SS] [AL] [BR] [DZ]

Midsummer Century {/42/} [BBT]

[DAW; 1974; 451-UQ1094-095; $.95]
[Doubleday; 1972; 0385016271; $?] [BB]

[Result: MU.] A man finds his mind occupying a non-human body in the far future. The other 'occupant' is not amused. -42

The Triumph of Time {/22/} [BBT]

[Avon; 1966; S221; $.60]

This one has the protagonist becoming a minor universe. -22

Bloch, Robert; Norton, Andre

The Jekyll Legacy {/Ph/} [RR] [BBT]

[Tor; 1991; 0812515838; $4.99] [BB]

This one is an "inductive reasoning" entry; since it's a sequel to Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and that's a transformation story, this one probably is as well. With my luck, though, it won't be, and someone can embarrass me by telling me so. -Ph

(Continued...)

Where to from here?

Books A (p. 2)

Transformation Stories List